Diffusion technique for the generation of gaseous halogen standards

Abstract

Halogens are known to play an important role in the tropospheric ozone-depletion chemistry and are of special interest because of their influence on the atmospheric oxidation capacity. In this paper, we investigate the application of a capillary diffusion technique for the generation of gaseous halogen standards like Br(2), IBr, ICl and I(2). The influence of capillary dimension (i.e. length and inner diameter), ambient pressure and headspace volume of the diffusion vessel on the test gas output has been evaluated. The experimental output rates are determined from the mass loss of the analyte vessel on a regular schedule and compared with their respective theoretical predictions. We also demonstrate that a 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene-coated diffusion denuder is capable of collecting gaseous ICl quantitatively, which provides an attractive alternative for the rapid determination of the output of test gas devices. The output rates of ICl measured by the denuder method are in close agreements with the data obtained by the gravimetric method.